#43. March Madness

After the previous blog entry (a Luke-dominated post), Clare felt left out so I decided to put together another entry highlighting some of March's happenings.  There's been a lot more going on than securing that damn helmet!

Like the past few months, we all blinked and March was over.  On March 19, the twins officially reached 8 months. 

Luke and Clare, 8 months

I thought I would point out that these monthly milestone 'photoshoots' are typically quite a production.  So much so, that I thought I'd post a few (of the many) rejected photos...  

From upper left clockwise: 1) oh, Clare, let me fix your hair  2) put your legs down brother  3) sister's getting crabby! 4) now sister shows some attitude 5) arms up, let's mess with daddy  6) ok we're done whether you got a good one or not 

This week also marks a year since we found out the good news (while traveling in Portugal) that there was going to be a Luke (boy) and a Clare (girl). 

Flashback to the day Luke and Clare were 'born' into our minds

Time continues to fly and it's crazy to see how far the twins are coming (and moving!) along.

Hangin' out on the playpad is fun....

...but a trip away from the play pad makes for a great adventure!!

The twins were excited to see both of their grandmothers in the past month.  Grandma Steffie came north for a Chicago visit

Grandma Steffie and Clare

and helped with the ongoing solid food eating movement.  

Maybe Grandma Steffie can help with the stubborn solid-eating Clare!

No problems here...Luke's one happy customer!

A week later, we took the twins down to Central Illinois for another visit to Eureka,

Not sure how we fit all of this and more into our car, but Clare and
 Luke had plenty of stuff to play with on Grandpa and Grandma's floor!

where they were showered with attention from Grandma and Grandpa Knapp.

After having two boys of her own, Grandma is a pro with Luke

She may not eat much (solids) but she loves the attention from Grandpa

Grandma Knapp enjoys lap time with 'Bubba' and 'Peanut'

We even made a quick stop off to Bloomington for a visit with some friends.

Ivy and Amelia taking care of their growing 'cousins'

Daddy went out of town for his (nerd alert!) annual Texas Instruments 'calculator conference', so Papa played 'dress up' the twins.

The Dapper Luke...

and the Dashing Clare!

Yeah, we clean up real nice!!

Luke and Clare also made a trip to Naperville to visit with Aunt Lisa and their cousins.  

Stroller drag racing with cousin Nick!

The weather was so nice when Daddy was in Texas, that Luke and Clare got to spend time outside in the courtyard.

Lovin' the fresh air...and look at Luke's hair!

Unfortunately, Daddy's return coincided with the return of cold weather, and the first (please let it be the last!) snow of the spring season.  We took advantage and finally opened the full body snowsuits we neglected using throughout the actual winter season.

Dads glad the twins got one wear out of these things

You mean, this white stuff is here in late March too?!?

If you build a snowman in late March, they will come

Outside of helmets, grandparents, and spring snow, we've mainly been bumming around the house...a family favorite activity.

Daddy's two little munchkins

Luke takes a (short) break from scampering through the house in his wheels

Serious Sister close-up

Posin' with Papa

Someone scooted away from the play area

Bless her heart, she jumped herself to exhaustion!

Putting the helmet to good use...Father/Son Shocker support!

Sister Sous-chef

I'll wrap it up here with a couple of videos of Luke and Clare enjoying some play time right before bed.  

Luke logging more flight time

Clare showing off her 'moves'

We're looking forward to the 9th month with these two!

#42. 'Helmetgate'

This post will begin like a TV drama where the opening scene (a shocking sight that makes you wonder how it ever happened) is followed by a caption like '...24 hours ago...' and the remainder of the show is the progression leading to the opening scene.  Here we go...

2 months ago...

(yes, as in back in January) 

As many of you know (or have personally observed), Luke was born with a misshapen head. One of our biggest challenges in the past two months has been getting Luke fitted with a helmet. Fortunately, the shape issues (caused from Luke's positioning during gestation...Clare was a womb hog!) have not caused Luke any problems with his growth and movement (babies with similar head shape issues typically require physical therapy).  

This is a snapshot from Luke's 360 degree head scan viewed from above

This is the head scan made into a math problem...
it helped me understand the issue better!

The helmet device (called a Doc band) has a good reputation (we know a few babies that have been 'helmeted') and success rate, so we were hoping to take this on as soon as possible.  So, back in January, we started 'Helmetgate' and visited the Orthotics Department of Children's Hospital downtown to have Luke evaluated.

Clare entertained us in the waiting room...

...while Luke went for a ride in the dumptruck (legs up of course!)

The specialist diagnosed Luke with having severe plagiocephaly (try saying this word 5 times fast...or even once) and recommended him to wear a helmet for 3-6 months to correct the distorted shape of his head.  So, we scheduled a second appointment to have him measured the following week.  After leaving Children's, we took a little stroll through the city

After seeing the temples of Bangkok, the twins
were not so impressed by Chicago's Water Tower

and grabbed some lunch at a Chicago institution, Gino's East.

Brother slept through lunch...

...while sister wondered when she can ditch the formula for french fries

The twins and I returned to Children's a week later to have Luke's head measured for the helmet.

Luke's not the bonnet-wearing type of boy, apparently

We were only a short week away from the delivery of Luke's helmet when a familiar obstacle in these types of situations, insurance, surfaced.  When I initially called our provider, I was told that the insurance company would cover 85% of the costs for the pricey helmet with a diagnosis of severe (moderate wouldn't cut it, but thankfully Luke is severe) plagiocephaly.  Unfortunately, when the hospital sent the insurance company an 18-page document that contained Luke's evaluation and 'severe' diagnosis, our claim was (maybe not surprisingly) denied.  After 3 weeks of phone tag with both the insurance company and an insurance advocate from Chris' company (which felt more like three weeks of 'is anyone doing anything to help us?'), we were told the official determination:

Severe plagiocephaly is covered by the insurance company, however, it is not treated by the insurance company. 

Poor Luke...already an insurance victim at 7 months

Pardon my acronymization (yes, this is a word...I looked it up), but WTF??  Thankfully, when Clare returned to our pediatrician for her 6-month checkup (she was sick when we took them both in the week before), our pediatrician gave us another company to contact called Cranial Technologies, (www.cranialtech.com) located in Lincoln Park. Cranial Tech provides a discount for those insured by certain (negligent) insurance companies like ours and we can now correct Luke's womb-induced deformity for half the cost, out-of-pocket, of the other hospital (we almost had to start a go fund me campaign!).  While the reduced 'price tag' came as great news, it meant that all of the appointments we went through in the previous weeks had to be repeated again with the new facility.  So, at our 'new' first appointment, 

Luke waiting to start his second evaluation appointment 

(he's definitely my son because this was my reaction exactly)

Clare's first experience with deja vu

Luke was once again diagnosed with severe plagiocephaly.

Surprise, surprise!

Nothing against Children's Hospital (we have used them many times before and will continue to do so), but the Cranial Tech facility and technology are really great.  We even received a pdf report via email where we could rotate Luke's 'floating head' 360 degrees (Chris had fun showing this off to co-workers) to see the various angles of his 'deformity'.  A week later, we returned to Cranial Tech to have him measured again for the helmet.   

Waiting to be measured. Again.

Keep your eye on the shiny object! (At this facility they actually
took one photo with over a dozen cameras surrounding Luke)

Finally, only 2 months after we started this journey, Luke received his customized helmet on St. Patrick's Day.

Separated at birth?!?  Luke is our Man at Arms!!

'Watch it...I'm the only twin you got!'

As they say, all's well that ends well and so far, so good.  Luke has been wearing the helmet for 3 hours at a time to see how his head is adjusting.  There are a few red spots (caused by the pressure of the helmet) that we watch to make sure they go away within an hour.  Starting today, he will be wearing his helmet for 23 hours a day.  We have been impressed by his adjustment and tolerance so far!  We will now attend biweekly adjustment check ups and, hopefully, in a matter of a few months Luke's noggin will be 'normal'.  

Clare's already taking good care of her brother
 (most likely out of guilt for taking up so much space)!

We hope everyone gets used to seeing our little guy with his helmet in upcoming blog posts!

He probably could actually play football wearing this thing!

  

#41. Lucky Seven

Happy seven months, Luke & Clare!!

Still getting along....for now! (Note...yes, this is an
accurate representation of their comparative sizes!)

Thanks for the knitted sweaters, Aunt Robin!!

Pre-bedtime play time on the couch with Papa

Happy belated Valentine's Day from the Heartbreakers Club!

Well, we all survived another month. Before I discuss happenings from the last few weeks, I want to first share some exciting news (for those that may not already know).  First, we are 'officially' (using quotes because we never needed a formal court order to tell us this) a family.  As of the end of 2014, Clare and Luke are both legally children of both Chris and me.  Additionally, the twins are formally now known as Clare and Luke Knapp-Heald.  We feel so fortunate to have gotten through the adoption and name change process quickly and with such little hassle (unlike what it took to get home from Thailand!).  Thank you to Jill Metz and her office here in Chicago for your help.  We feel privileged to live in a country/state/city where there is so much support for us to have a family. After Luke & Clare had 'official' names declared, we took them to order their social security numbers.
  

Waiting...they were more patient than me!

The woman at our counter (who carried the typical government worker 'I am an expert at this one thing you know nothing about so I will hold that over you and intimidate you' chip on her shoulder) seemed like she didn't want anyone to have an easy time obtaining a social security number that day. First, (before looking through my documents) she criticized me for not having everything I needed (despite the fact I had everything I needed) and then said (as if Luke and Clare would be denied numeric existence) 'We'll see how far this gets us'. Fortunately, two weeks after our visit, the cards arrived. Next step is setting up checking accounts for the twins (good thing we haven't spent all of their money yet!).

They are officially numbers now (pinked out, of course)!!

A few weeks ago (though Clare had to go back later because she was sick the day of) the twins had successful 6 month check-ups.

                    On the left is the 4 month check up...and on the right is 6 months...more hair and what happened to Clare!!

Luke tipped the scales at 17 lbs and 7 oz (up 2 lbs and 12 oz in 2 months and 12 lbs 4 oz since birth),

4 mos vs. 6 mos...More weight, more hair, more alert, and more perpendicular legs!

and Clare at 15 lbs and 4 oz (up 3 lbs and 7 oz in 2 months and 10 lbs and 4 oz since birth).

4 mos vs. 6 mos...Sister's starting to pack it on!!  We couldn't be more proud of her chubby(er) cheeks!

Around the house it's still smiles (mostly),

Clare on Papa's lap                                                                     Luke in the walker            

teething (where Luke is a pro),

         Taking down a rainforest                                             Yes, that's a drop of drool...see video later

and a game of who can stray furthest away from the playmat (where Clare excels).  Movement is more of a scoot for now, but I imagine they will be crawling by the next blog post!

After kicking herself out of her PJs (upper left), Clare makes her way to the fireplace (upper right),
under her rock n' play (lower left) and almost outside into the snow (lower right)

Even Brother is finally getting the idea

Sometimes, the twins play to the point of pure exhaustion!

      Victim #1                                                                           Victim #2

We survived a bout of colds.  Clare had it worst (low fever, and sick for almost a week),

Look at those tired eyes...we were proud of how
tough she was during a very difficult week

followed by Chris (4-5 days), Luke (2 days), and then, me (1 day...phew!).  When everyone is healthy, we are really enjoying this stage 'hanging out' with the twins.

Chillin' with my three babies

Papa provides a nice shoulder to cuddle up to

 

Our diapered dapper dude hanging with Aunt Amy

Clare and Trig share some down time on the couch

Finally, for those who have survived the post this far, here are a handful of videos showing the twins in action at seven months:

A typical view of the corner of our living room (if bottled drool were a commodity, it would pay Luke through college....and not sure what song is going through Clare's head here....or anytime she's going to town on the jumper!).

Luke performing his newly popular spit & scream act (usually indicating its nap time):

Clare getting lazy in the jumper:

Luke enjoying some floor time with the elephant ball from Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Steve:

Clare doing what she does best...scooting EVERYWHERE!  Here she is pushing her walker:

We know our days are numbered but we are going to try to enjoy the final stage of immobility in our household!